SENIORNET AND THE H.R.C. FOUNDATION BRING SENIORS IN CHULA VISTA ACROSS THE ‘DIGITAL DIVIDE’ WITH FREE COMPUTER ACCESS AND INSTRUCTION

Grand Opening of the SeniorNet Computer Learning Center at MAAC Project’s ‘Seniors on Broadway’ Affordable Housing Development to Take Place June 17th

SANTA CLARA, CA – June 11, 2008 – SeniorNet, the world’s leading nonprofit technology educator of older adults, with funding from the H.R.C. Foundation and in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee (MAAC) Project, a multi-purpose social service agency that promotes self-sufficiency for low and moderate income families and communities of Southern California, today announces it will open a new SeniorNet Computer Learning Center to bring free computer access and education to low-income, Latino seniors in Chula Vista, California.

The Grand Opening event and Open House will take place on June 17th, 2008 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the MAAC Project ‘Seniors On Broadway’ affordable housing community, at 845 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA 91911. All press and community members are invited to attend.

The opening of this scholarship-based SeniorNet Learning Center is part of a three-year grant from the H.R.C. Foundation to bridge the ‘Digital Divide’ by bringing the life-changing benefits of computer access and education to seniors of all backgrounds and ethnicities that are living in urban, underserved communities across the U.S. The H.R.C. Foundation is a private family foundation that funds programs for low-income children and families as well as older adults.

“We were very pleased to award SeniorNet with this grant,” said Mary Leonard, consultant, H.R.C. Foundation. “Low-income seniors are victims of the ‘Digital Divide,’ which widens in communities where English is a second language. We’ve experienced successes with the scholarship-based, SeniorNet Learning Centers we’ve opened in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, and we’re especially pleased to provide this service to a Spanish-speaking community of older adults in Chula Vista, California.”

“SeniorNet is grateful to the H.R.C. Foundation and is proud to partner with the MAAC Project to bring technology into the lives of seniors living in the Chula Vista community,” said Kristin Fabos, SeniorNet Executive Director. “The MAAC Project ‘Seniors on Broadway’ location is a state-of-the-art, affordable housing facility that is a natural fit for a SeniorNet Computer Learning Center, which will provide seniors living on a fixed income with free computer instruction in both English and Spanish.”

The ‘Seniors on Broadway’ affordable housing development in Chula Vista was opened in July and built on surplus Chula Vista school district property. ‘Seniors on Broadway’ provides 42 affordable apartments for older adults. In addition to computer access and education at the SeniorNet Computer Learning Center, the development offers seniors the opportunity to be involved in an intergenerational learning program with the students at the Chula Vista Elementary Charter School, located next door.

“The ‘Seniors on Broadway’ affordable housing facility is a cooperative effort between the MAAC Project, the city of Chula Vista, and the Chula Vista Elementary School District that not only provides essential services for seniors, but also aids in the redevelopment of the Chula Vista community,” said Vicky Rodriguez, MAAC Project Director of Community Development. “We are grateful to SeniorNet and to the H.R.C. Foundation for their partnership with us to bring the added benefit of computer access and instruction to our residents as well as older adults in the surrounding Chula Vista community.”

The scholarship-based computer lab at Seniors on Broadway in Chula Vista, California is the third of three such computer learning centers that SeniorNet has opened as part of a three-year H.R.C. Foundation grant. The first two scholarship-based SeniorNet learning centers of this grant were opened in Washington, D.C. at Emmaus Services for the Aging’s Dr. Arthur S. Fleming Senior Center, and in New Orleans, at the Central City Economic Opportunity Corporation (EOC) Senior Center. About the MAAC Project The MAAC Project is a multi-purpose social service agency with a successful 42-year history of serving various communities throughout San Diego County. In 1965, MAAC Project opened its doors to serve San Diego's disadvantaged. One million clients later, MAAC is still acting as a catalyst to help individuals and families become self-sufficient. MAAC provides a spectrum of unique programs designed to assist clients by engaging them in the enhancement of their own lives through lifestyle changes. The programs strive to improve clients’ economic standing as well as their ability to access resources available to them.

MAAC serves over 35,000 individuals per year and over the past 42 years has touched the lives of over 1,000,000 clients. Employing over 300 personnel, MAAC staffs 35 sites bringing to its constituents empowering social services, health components, a state-of-the-art charter school, technology centers, economic development, affordable housing…all of which build community. MAAC serves San Diego County families through HeadStart/FirstStart, nutritional programs, low-income home weatherization and improvement, two notable and culturally specific recovery homes, award winning affordable housing complexes and a charter school.

About SeniorNet SeniorNet (www.seniornet.org) is the world's premier technology trainer and online community for adults over 50. Based in Santa Clara, California and founded in 1986, SeniorNet is an international nonprofit organization that has taught hundreds of thousands of older adults to use computers and the Internet and has enriched the lives of millions through its award-winning website. With a thriving online community and a network of nearly 150 locally run Learning Centers in the U.S. and abroad staffed by more than 4,000 volunteers, SeniorNet offers both offline and online destinations to a population that was originally neglected in the information revolution. With sponsorship by major corporations and foundations, private and public donations, and a backbone of individual members and contributors, SeniorNet continues to grow and offer new opportunities to those touched by its mission.

For Additional Information or to RSVP to the Grand Opening, contact:

Kristin Fabos SeniorNet (408) 615-0699
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Adolfo Ventura MAAC Project (619) 454-0557
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